diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
index c00fb52..4d40bc8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
@@ -21,6 +21,18 @@ jobs:
       - name: Test
         run: go test ./... -v
 
+      # The release builds for every OS/arch; the host-only build above can miss
+      # platform-specific code (e.g. syscall fields). Cross-compile the same
+      # targets goreleaser does so a release-breaking compile error fails CI first.
+      - name: Cross-compile release targets
+        run: |
+          for os in linux windows darwin; do
+            for arch in amd64 arm64; do
+              echo "build $os/$arch"
+              CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=$os GOARCH=$arch go build ./... || exit 1
+            done
+          done
+
   crd-drift:
     name: Embedded CRDs in sync with butler-api
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
diff --git a/internal/ctl/cluster/detach_unix.go b/internal/ctl/cluster/detach_unix.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..78d94cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/ctl/cluster/detach_unix.go
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2026 The Butler Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+//go:build !windows
+
+package cluster
+
+import "syscall"
+
+// detachSysProcAttr puts the child in a new session so it survives the parent
+// process exiting (the kubeconfig command returns; the port-forward keeps running
+// for the follow-up kubectl invocation).
+func detachSysProcAttr() *syscall.SysProcAttr {
+	return &syscall.SysProcAttr{Setsid: true}
+}
diff --git a/internal/ctl/cluster/detach_windows.go b/internal/ctl/cluster/detach_windows.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b1168fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/ctl/cluster/detach_windows.go
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2026 The Butler Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+//go:build windows
+
+package cluster
+
+import "syscall"
+
+// detachSysProcAttr starts the child in a new process group, detached from the
+// parent's console, so it survives the parent process exiting (the kubeconfig
+// command returns; the port-forward keeps running for the follow-up kubectl
+// invocation).
+func detachSysProcAttr() *syscall.SysProcAttr {
+	const (
+		createNewProcessGroup = 0x00000200 // CREATE_NEW_PROCESS_GROUP
+		detachedProcess       = 0x00000008 // DETACHED_PROCESS
+	)
+	return &syscall.SysProcAttr{CreationFlags: createNewProcessGroup | detachedProcess}
+}
diff --git a/internal/ctl/cluster/portforward.go b/internal/ctl/cluster/portforward.go
index d9e6501..577edf7 100644
--- a/internal/ctl/cluster/portforward.go
+++ b/internal/ctl/cluster/portforward.go
@@ -185,9 +185,10 @@ func ensureLocalForward(clusterName, tenantNS, service, mgmtKubeconfigPath, mgmt
 		cmd.Stdout = logFile
 		cmd.Stderr = logFile
 	}
-	// Detach into a new session so the forward survives the CLI exiting; the
-	// follow-up `kubectl get nodes` runs as a separate process.
-	cmd.SysProcAttr = &syscall.SysProcAttr{Setsid: true}
+	// Detach the forward so it survives the CLI exiting; the follow-up
+	// `kubectl get nodes` runs as a separate process. The detach mechanism is
+	// platform-specific (see detach_unix.go / detach_windows.go).
+	cmd.SysProcAttr = detachSysProcAttr()
 	if err := cmd.Start(); err != nil {
 		return 0, fmt.Errorf("starting tunnel (kubectl is required to use local clusters): %w", err)
 	}